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he said it would be a pretext for all the flocks, the divine Jacob advised everyone to use the hardship of the fast, and for seven consecutive days to beseech God to ordain what would be advantageous for the churches. And when everyone accepted the suggestion of the divine man—for they knew that he shone with apostolic graces—the fast was mingled with prayer; and the governor of these things decreed what was expedient for the churches. And when the appointed day arrived, on which most expected the sinner to be received, and the time for the divine liturgy had come, and all were waiting to see the adversary of God being shown mercy, then a truly divine and extraordinary wonder occurred; for in abominable and foul-smelling places that fiend, in excreting the waste of his insatiable food, also excreted their receptacles along with them. And so with his bowels having dissolved and passed out with the dung, the wretch immediately expired and underwent that most shameful death, paying the price for his foul-smelling blasphemy in foul-smelling places and receiving his slaughter through the tongue of the great Jacob. Therefore, the divine Scripture marvels at Phinehas the priest, and marvels rightly, because he slew Zambri, who had become the cause of destruction for the people. Wherefore the blessed David also said in a psalm: "Phinehas stood up and made atonement, and the plague was stayed; and it was counted to him for righteousness from generation to generation for ever." But yet he, using a weapon of war, wrought that just and much-celebrated slaughter; but for this man, the tongue sufficed instead of a spear and a sword, and he destroyed the impious one that he might not see the glory of the Lord. And this alone is sufficient to refute the folly of the heirs of the impiety of Arius. For so great a man was a herald and advocate of the doctrines held by us; and he so utterly detested their impiety that he even struck down its father, using his tongue as a weapon. And when that sacred assembly was dissolved and each returned to his house, he also came back like some victorious champion, exulting in the trophies of piety. 1.11 After some time had passed, that great and wonderful emperor, with the crowns of piety, departed this life; and his sons inherited the rule. Then the king of the Persians—Shapur was his name—despising the sons as not being capable of the same things as their father, marched against Nisibis with a very great cavalry and a very great infantry. And he also brought as many elephants as possible. And having divided the army for a siege, he sat around it in a circle, and set up engines, and built towers, and, fixing palisades and fencing the spaces between them with wickerwork of branches, he ordered the soldiers to heap up earth, and to raise up towers against the towers. Then, having brought the archers up there and ordering them to shoot arrows at those standing on the wall, he commanded others from below to undermine the wall. But as all these efforts were rendered futile, being undone by the prayer of the divine man, he finally, by the labor of many hands, dammed the flow of the river that ran alongside and, having collected as much of the dammed river as possible by means of a wall, he released it all at once against the wall, using it as a most violent engine. And it did not bear the impact of the water, but shaken by the torrent, the whole part in that area completely fell down. And they shouted loudly, as though the city had become easy to capture; for they were ignorant of the great wall of the inhabitants. Nevertheless, they postponed the assault, seeing the city had become impassable because of the waters. Therefore, having withdrawn far away, as their toil had ceased, they themselves rested, and they tended to the horses. But those in the city

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πρόφασιν ἔσεσθαι τοῖς ποιμνίοις ἅπασιν ἔλεγε, παρῄνει πᾶσιν ὁ θεῖος Ἰάκωβος τῇ μὲν τῆς νηστείας χρήσασθαι κακουχίᾳ, ἑπτὰ δὲ κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἡμέρας τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεῦσαι τὸ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις συνοῖσον πρυτανεῦσαι. ∆εξαμένων δὲ ἁπάντων τοῦ θεσπεσίου ἀνδρὸς τὴν εἰσήγησιν-ᾔδεσαν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀποστολικοῖς χαρίσμασι λάμ ποντα-, ἐκεράννυτο μὲν ἡ νηστεία τῇ προσευχῇ· ἐψηφίζετο δὲ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ὁ τούτων κυβερνήτης τὸ συμφέρον. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἀπήντησεν ἡ κυρία, καθ' ἣν ἤλπιζον οἱ πλείους τὸν ἀλιτήριον εἰσδεχθήσεσθαι, καὶ τῆς θείας λειτουργίας ἔφθασεν ὁ καιρός, καὶ προσέμενον ἅπαντες ἰδεῖν τὸν ἀντίθεον ἐλεούμενον, τηνικαῦτα γίνεται θεῖον ὄντως καὶ παράδοξον θαῦμα· ἐν βδελυκτοῖς γὰρ καὶ δυσώδεσι χωρίοις ὁ ἀλάστωρ ἐκεῖνος τῆς ἀπλήστου τροφῆς ἐκκρίνων τὰ περιττώματα, καὶ τὰ τούτων μετὰ τούτων ἐξέκρινε δοχεῖα. Οὕτω δὲ τῶν σπλάγχνων αὐτοῦ διαλυθέντων καὶ σὺν τῇ κόπρῳ κεχωρηκότων, ἐξέπνευσεν ὁ δείλαιος παραχρῆμα καὶ τὸν αἴσχιστον ἐκεῖνον ὑπέμεινε θάνατον, τῆς δυσώδους αὐτοῦ βλασφημίας ἐν δυσώδεσι χωρίοις εἰσπραχθεὶς τὰς εὐθύνας καὶ διὰ τῆς Ἰακώβου τοῦ μεγάλου γλώττης δεξάμενος τὴν σφαγήν. Θαυμάζει μὲν οὖν ἡ θεία γραφὴ Φινεὲς τὸν ἱερέα, καὶ εἰκότως θαυμάζει, ὅτι τὸν ὀλέθρου τῷ λαῷ γενόμενον πρόξενον κατέ σφαξε τὸν Ζαμβρί. ∆ιὸ καὶ ψάλλων ὁ μακάριος ἔλεγε ∆αβίδ· "Ἔστη Φινεὲς καὶ ἐξιλάσατο καὶ ἐκόπασεν ἡ θραῦσις· καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεὰν ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος." Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐκεῖνος ὅπλῳ πολεμικῷ χρησάμενος, τὴν δικαίαν καὶ πολυθρύλητον ἐκείνην εἰργάσατο σφάγην· τούτῳ δὲ ἤρκεσεν ἀντὶ δόρατος καὶ ξίφους ἡ γλῶττα καὶ ἀνεῖλε τὸν ἀσεβῆ ἵνα μὴ ἴδῃ τὴν δόξαν κυρίου. Ἀπόχρη δὲ τοῦτο καὶ μόνον τῶν τῆς Ἀρείου δυσσεβείας κληρονόμων διελέγξαι τὴν ἄνοιαν. Ὁ γὰρ τοσοῦτος ἀνὴρ τῶν μὲν ὑφ' ἡμῶν πρεσβευο μένων δογμάτων κῆρυξ ἦν καὶ συνήγορος· οὕτω δὲ κομιδῇ τὴν τούτων ἀσέβειαν ἐβδελύττετο ὅτι καὶ τὸν ταύτης πατέρα κατηκόντισεν, ὅπλῳ τῇ γλώττῃ χρησάμενος. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ σύλλογος ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἱερὸς διελύθη καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν κατέλαβεν ἕκαστος, ἐπανῆκε καὶ οὗτος οἷά τις ἀριστεὺς νικη φόρος τοῖς τῆς εὐσεβείας τροπαίοις ἐπαγαλλόμενος. 1.11 Χρόνου δὲ διελθόντος ὁ μὲν μέγας ἐκεῖνος καὶ θαυμάσιος βασιλεὺς μετὰ τῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας στεφάνων ὑπεξῄει τὸν βίον· οἱ δὲ ἐκείνου παῖδες τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐκληρονόμουν. Τότε ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεύς-Σαβώρης δὲ τούτῳ ὄνομα ἦν-, καταφρονήσας τῶν παίδων ὡς οὐ τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ πατρὶ δυναμένων, ἐπεστράτευσε τῇ Νισίβει παμ πόλλῃ μὲν ἵππῳ, παμπόλλῃ δὲ πεζῇ στρατιᾷ. Ἦγε δὲ καὶ ἐλέφαντας ὅτι πλείστους. Καὶ διελὼν ὡς εἰς πολιορκίαν τὴν στρατιὰν περιεκάθισε κύκλῳ, καὶ μηχανήματα ἵστη, καὶ τύρσεις ἀνῳκοδόμει καί, σταυρώματα καταπηγνὺς καὶ τὰ μέσα τούτων φορμηδὸν περιφράττων τοῖς κλάδοις, ἐκέλευε προσχοῦν τοὺς στρατιώτας, καὶ πύργους ἀντεγείρειν τοῖς πύργοις. Εἶτα ἐκεῖ τοὺς τοξότας ἀναβιβάζων καὶ ἀφιέναι κατὰ τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους ἑστηκότων τὰ βέλη κελεύων, ἄλλους κάτωθεν ὑπορύττειν τὸ τεῖχος ἐκέλευεν. Ὡς δὲ ἄπρακτα ἅπαντα ἐγίνετο τῇ τοῦ θεσπεσίου ἀνδρὸς διαλυόμενα προσευχῇ, τέλος τοῦ παραρρέοντος ποταμοῦ τὸ ῥεῦμα τῇ πολυχειρίᾳ κωλύσας καὶ τῇ ἀποτειχίσει κεκω λυμένον τοῦ ποταμοῦ ὅτι πλεῖστον συναθροίσας, ἐπαφῆκεν ἀθρόον κατὰ τοῦ τείχους, οἷόν τινι μηχανήματι τούτῳ σφοδροτάτῳ χρησάμενος. Τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἤνεγκε τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος ἐμβολήν, ἀλλὰ τῇ ῥύμῃ κατασεισθὲν ἄρδην ἅπαν τὸ κατ' ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέρος κατέπεσεν. Οἱ δὲ μέγα ἐβόησαν, ὡς εὐαλώτου γενομένου τοῦ ἄστεως· τὸ γὰρ μέγα τεῖχος τῶν ἐνοικούντων ἠγνόουν. Ἀνεβάλλοντο δὲ ὅμως τὴν προσβολήν, ἄβατον ὁρῶντες ὑπὸ τῶν ὑδάτων γενομένην τὴν πόλιν. Πόρρω τοίνυν ὑποχωρήσαντες, ὡς τοῦ πόνου σφίσι λωφήσαντος, αὐτοί τε διανεπαύοντο, καὶ τοὺς ἵππους ἐθεράπευον. Οἱ δὲ τὴν πόλιν